0

Believe.in, a VC-backed U.K.-based charity donation platform that’s disrupting the cause-giving space by not charging any fees on donations, has announced a partnership with easy payments API startup Stripe — to allow charities to receive direct payments faster than would otherwise be the case. The pair claim payments will be up to one month faster than the “existing norm”, as a result of the tie-up.

Stripe launched its online payments system back in 2011 as a way for developers to bypass setting up merchant accounts or having to deal with banks, while still ensuring transaction safety. Its payment mechanism is being used with a raft of startups — including the likes of Lyft, Exec, SideCar, OrderAhead, Sesame and Postmates — with Believe.in being just the latest to get involved.

For its part, Believe.in is using the Stripe partnership as a way to attract more charities to its platform — noting that it will be offering Stripe’s payment processing tech to charities free of charge, along with its existing product suite. Gift Aid processing will also be free. Stripe’s charges for payment processing are simplified to a flat fee which Believe.in says will allow charities on its platform to receive their funds “quickly and at predictable costs”.

Commenting on the Stripe tie-up in a statement, Matthias Metternich, co-founder and CEO of Believe.in, said: “Today’s partnership is another example of our commitment to fusing creativity, design and technology together to create tools that help charities change the world for the better — direct donation transfers is a big part of this new modern toolset.”

So where’s Believe.in’s money coming from, if it’s not charging charities for donations? The model it’s using is akin to a freemium one, with free donations being the carrot to get charities through the door, and then monetisation coming via paid-for add on services. Namely cloud-based social enterprise software to help charities make the most of social media and the real-time web.

“We are an enterprise software company for charities,” Metternich tells TechCrunch. “If you look at Blackbaud, this is more what we aim to become, rather than a payment processor who takes a cut from donations akin to JustGiving. We are a creative technology company, not a payment gateway.”

Also today, Believe.in has launched new dashboards for charities — so they can access, view and manage all the donations made through its platform.

OverviewStripe is the best way to accept payments online. Stripe aims to expand internet commerce by making it easy to process transactions and manage an online business.
Stripe now processes billions of dollars a year for thousands of businesses, from newly-launched start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Since Stripe powers so many new businesses, it's a snapshot of how the internet is changing; many users …